where is M31?

[boborange]

Have been looking for M31 for the last couple of nights and wondering if my location is the cause of my problem. I live in central london do have alot of LP, would this be hindering my chances of seeing it?

Thanks....

[Brinders]

Very low down in the north west at the time of writing. M31 is best seen in Autumn.

Brinders

[Nexus 6]

Hi boborange, in case you may not have it yet try downloading Stellarium, it will really help you in showing were anything is you may wish to observe and when its possible to do so

[JamesF]

Yup, it's well to the west by the time it's dark enough to see it now. To stand a chance you really want to get out as soon as possible after dark. It's at the end of the bit that sticks out of Andromeda to the right.

I can find it with the naked eye here, so I'd have thought you ought to be able to find it fairly easily at low magnification even with some light pollution as long as you're looking when it's still reasonably high up in the sky.

James

[brantuk]

I saw M31 naked eye just last w/e. The pointy bit of the "W" in Cas points straight at it. Intersect the line with a diagonal from bottom right to top left of the great square in Peg and you'll be bang on it (or very near at least)

[Pug]

Can't see with the naked eye for me also, and even through the scope it's barely a smudge, I blame it on the orrible orange smog Basingstoke throws up.

[spaceboy]

I can just make out M31 by eye on good nights and even on poorer nights it can be seen through binoculars. I think most of London is under 3.0 magnitude Sky's so you would struggle to see it by eye even on the best of nights but you should be able to make it out with a telescope. As others have said it is low in the skies, so by the time it gets dark you wont get much of a view from it until later in the year.

[boborange]

Thanks for the tips. Ive got stellarium which pointed me in the right direction but still could not see it. i think the combination of it being low in the sky and 15 miles of light polution surrounding me in every direction gives me a few problems. I will keep trying but may be wait until its higher in the sky later this year.

[Nexus 6]

Thanks for the tips. Ive got stellarium which pointed me in the right direction but still could not see it. i think the combination of it being low in the sky and 15 miles of light polution surrounding me in every direction gives me a few problems. I will keep trying but may be wait until its higher in the sky later this year.

bad luck having all that lp bob, I know you will see it much better in a few months, just wait untill it approaches your Meridian

[ollypenrice]

I'd be amazed if you could see it in Central London. It is very faint and doesn't seem to me to benefit as much as most things from aperture. It benefits, yes, but in a big scope it still has an elusive soft look about it. This is not the case for M101, however, which loves aperture.

Olly